Ghouls Collection
by eye of the divine
Summary: A collection of short stories on Ghouls based off prompts
1. Come Here, You Need A Hug

_So not long ago I opened up my tumblr inbox to prompts. These short fictions capture snap shots of certain parts of Kindred exsistance._

 _A massive thank you to Emma for picking the prompts to send me, and allowing me to use her characters and setting. This particular collection will focus on Ghouls_

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 _ **Come Here, You Need A Hug - Sophia & Loic **_

Loic's anxiety had spiked recently, he hated it, hated the way Sophia cried frequently, hated how she saw horrible things all the time. But most of all hated how she was addicted and craved what was in their veins.

Vividly he could recall the first time he had been bitten. The recollection made him flush red and drop the textbook on the desk with a sigh. The boy couldn't really put a name to the mixed sensations it elicted, it felt too nice and on so many levels wrong. Sometimes he'd peek a look when Sophia was with them, she was like an addict, lost to what she was given and what they took back.

He didn't like Lyle that much, he was always horrible to his adoptive mother and usually was mean to Sophia too. It made him heave a small sigh, feeling more than a little helpless as he knew he could do nothing to stop him.

It had been a late night so far, he'd waited up for her, he did it every time. He couldn't sleep these days unless Sophia was with him. He liked having her curled into his side, liked how she played with his hair or touched until she fell to sleep. Sometimes she looked peaceful, like she had none of the worries she actually had.

The clock ticked onward, the passage of time slowing like pouring treacle. It was three in the morning when he heard the front door open and close with a little click. Loic felt his pulse quicken a little with anticipation, he wanted to bolt but held himself back and looked back to the textbook yet again.

She came upstairs painfully slowly, trying not to wake anyone. He could hear her open his door, it made him feel a spark of pride that she'd choose to come directly to him.

Her body slipped through the small gap she gave herself. The door closed and the pair didn't speak, Loic pushed the desk chair away a little from the desk and opened his arms. Silently he said come here you need a hug, she obeyed with a small smile, just happy to see him again.

Sophia was so light he barely noticed the difference as she sat down. The bruise on her face didn't go unnoticed, his arms drew her closer offering silent comfort. There was no point asking, he already knew what had caused the marking.

They stayed like that a long time, eventually Loic had started to doze. He came back to full consciousness when the petite brunette was fully awake but the dark marks under her eyes mutely speaking of many long nights.

"Lets go to bed." She mumbled with a content sigh. So far it was proving more problematic than it should, neither had too much energy.

Loic gave a small agreement in the form of a slight sound. Though his grip on her tightened for a moment eventually it loosened to allow her freedom and she helped him stand.

The pair removed the clothes and changed into pyjamas before squirming under the covers. Loic grabbed the fluffy blanket and took the time to curl it around her. She mumbled her thanks and curled ever closer into his arms.

Sleep came easily to them both but neither had high hopes of it lasting all that long. It never did, but both enjoyed it as much as they could.


	2. You Deserve So Much Better

_**You Deserve So Much Better - Sophia & Kazimir **_

Sophia scrambled onto Kazimir, he brushed his blonde dreadlocks out of the way and welcomed her in his arms willingly.

She was tiny, all skin and bone. He warmed up to share somewhat, she was always cold, like she was born Kindred. He could hear her mumble a greeting in her onesie that looked like a tent on her.

As he drew her close he could feel the hot tears as she started to cry. He knew why, he didn't even have to ask. Another nightmare, they were always vivid and from what she had spoken of them Kazimir knew they weren't just normal nightmares.

She sobbed quietly in his chest and all he could do was draw her a little closer and play with her long curly hair. Eventually moving to stroke at her back and offer some kind of reassurance. He found it odd she came to them, Kindred were predatory by nature and yet she was never scared of them. She never hesitated even when their more bestial characteristics were on display.

It took half an hour before she started to calm. He was patient, able to keep quiet and soothe away the frustration and the heartbreak. It reminded him of when he was young and alive, when he used to do it for Varya when she had nightmares or beatings.

Kazimir couldn't help but think she deserved better, that she deserved a normal life away from all of this but he knew it couldn't happen, that the thing his brother had put inside her was the only thing keeping her frail body ticking over. As she pressed into his embrace he could feel the rhythmic beat of her pulse.

He heard movement, Loic was always hyper aware, he'd probably have noticed when she woke but wasn't sure what to do. Kazimir could hear the child creeping and peeking through the crack in the door.

Eventually Loic crept in and joined them when he saw Kazimir moved a little bit to make room for him. The teen did not hesitate to climb onto his lap and draw Sophia off to steal her back once again.

Kazimir let the teens stay until it got late, but in the end had to nudge the pair off and send them back to bed. It was getting too close to dawn to stay much longer.

The pair went obediently back to bed, sharing the bed quite used to one another. Loic drew her into his arms, covering her in the duvet and coiling his arms around her trying to guard her against anything bad.

Sophia caressed at his hair and neck but didn't go back to sleep. She wanted to enjoy every moment of him, knowing Lyle would be taking her away the next night to Amsterdam and nothing would be the same after that.

She had no evidence, just a feeling that a part of her would be lost to her lover. He was ignorant of all this, tomorrow she would have to tell him.


	3. Remember When You Used To Care?

_**Remember When You Used To Care? - Lyle & Sophia**_

She was crying again.

He hated that.

How was it that he was always the one that seemed to manage it without even putting in the slightest bit of effort? He made Claudia cry a lot, but then again he knew why that was, he was after all not all that kind or understanding of his Childe. The Ghoul though, the Ghoul he wasn't half as unkind to and that was primarily because it wasn't entirely his.

Sophia was curled on Varya's lap almost sobbing, the blonde slowly drew the child up and closer as the smaller body shivered and shook with a surprising amount of force for something so undernourished. Varya was the patient one, the one that actually understood what the hell was going on inside Sophia's head; the girl often made him feel helpless.

Lyle was stood at the opposite side of the coffee table his arms were crossed and his expression harsh.

"You used to care!" Sophia half yelled, half sobbed. She had a fiery temper, sometimes Lyle wondered if she got it from his blood, or Varya's. Both of them had terrible tempers when they lost it and both of them had enough power to make it a problem.

Eventually he crossed over and sat with them on the sofa. Varya's weight shifted to make room for him and then pressed into his side. She wanted him to sort this out now, the stern look she shot him was evidence enough of that.

Internally he sighed, how many times would he have to repeat this conversation?

Eventually he warmed his long dead body and reached over to take the young Ghoul off Varya's lap. The dress she wore had a dark patch on it where Sophia's tears had fallen, some of the light make up had also smeared into the fabric. Sophia fought him to stay with Varya but he didn't allow the Ghoul to disobey him.

His Beast hated the disobedience even more, it pulled a warning from him in the form of a growl, the reaction from Sophia was immediate, she allowed her grip on her Master's clothes go and begrudgingly consented to be moved onto his lap. Warm fingers lifted her chin up to make her meet Lyle's eye. It took a minute but even with her tears still falling freely she obeyed him.

"I told you before we are monsters." His voice was much calmer now. He could easily have Dominated her, but he'd rather she obey of her own will. Physical punishment would only work in certain circumstances and it wouldn't be good, Sophia was just that stubborn once it got into her head to do certain things she would risk her own life to do it.

Eventually she curled on his lap, once his fingers had let go of her chin. He dimly heard her mumble about it being unfair and not wanting to leave the city. That wasn't the truth of the matter though, she didn't want to leave Loic.

"You don't have a choice in this Sophia." He nipped at his own fingertips and offered them to her, vitae had slowly began to flow. Lyle felt her tiny body tense up as the scent and sight assailed her senses. She shook even more as she tried to fight against the cravings.

In the end it was futile.

With a tiny whimper she grabbed at his hand and brought them to her lips, she drank every drop he gave her, tonight he was being generous all things considered.

"You'll pack your things, say farewell to the boy and go to Tarcisus. If you're lucky you might see him again. Am I clear?"

Sophia whimpered, she wasn't overly focused on his words any more, all she cared about was the precious fix he was feeding her. She wanted it, needed it more than she could even find words to describe.

In the end she knew she would obey.

Anything just to have more of this, more of what flowed in their veins.

It was better than heroin.

It made her feel like everything would be ok, but she knew nothing but complete submission would give her what she needed.

Lyle waited to hear the confirmation, becoming impatient he began to slow the drops of warm vitae he was feeding her until he heard the mumbled affirmation she gave. He rewarded her by giving more. Sophia lay curled on his lap savouring every drop. She did not notice Varya kiss Lyle's cheek and stand to go and change her clothes.

At that moment her life had become so simple and she knew she would never exchange it because nothing would ever quite fill the void.


	4. I Had A Nightmare

It was the night before she was due to fly out to Amsterdam, Sophia's anxiety had already surpassed fever pitch as the days seemed to go by so quickly. It had been so odd, one minute she felt like it was years away and now the sense of impending doom just seemed to hang over her head at all times.

It had affected her sleep, not that she managed to get much in the first place but now it was worse than ever. Her dreams had become shockingly vivid. She was lucky if she got an hour at a time these days. This had also put Loic on edge too, he was so attentive he noticed everything.

At the moment he was blissfully ignorant, he lay next to her asleep. He always held her close, like he was scared she'd run away and never come back. If she could she knew she would run with him, but it wasn't an option. Tomorrow night would come and with it Lyle would fly her out to his Sire and god knows what madness.

Sophia remembered him, he was odd. Like a magnet though, she couldn't stay away from him. When he visited he'd take her out for food, even eat himself before vanishing off to purge it. She had never seen Kindred eat before, a part of her always felt bad when he did because she knew what he'd have to do not ten minutes later. Sometimes he'd give her vitae, only a few drops but it was so strong it made her belly feel like it would be full for days.

His manners were very old fashioned too, like he was out of a classic bit of literature. He'd smile if she wore dresses but didn't quite get that women now wore trousers too. When they walked he'd take her arm. Then the weird stuff, like when Varya had asked him to look at the thing her brother had put inside her. She couldn't see him do it and couldn't feel everything but she knew when his hands were poking around in her insides. When he was finished and Varya had closed her up again he'd whispered she'd been good and brave.

It still made her shiver remembering.

Eventually Sophia heard the front door open and close again, they were finally back. Carefully she extracted herself from Loic's grip and made sure he was still sleeping before creeping downstairs. Her nightmares had woken her up again, this one had been really bad, it was Claudia though this time, usually it was Loic, she normally just woke up and could check he was ok straight away but not this time she supposed.

As she crept along the landing her brain went into meltdown as she thought things through. What would she say to Claudia?

 _Hi, I had a nightmare about you and just wanted to make sure you're ok?_

The thought pulled a derisive snort from the teen. No, that would just seem crazy as hell. She was already half way down the stairs though by the time she had this epiphany and knew Claudia had amazing hearing so instead she came down and diverted away from the lounge heading towards the kitchen instead.

Sophia thought quickly, she got a glass out of the cupboard and made herself a drink instead. By the time she had pulled the orange juice carton out of the fridge she heard Claudia in the doorway.

"You're awake late, everything ok?" Claudia's voice was laced with concern. It even pulled at her expression. She was the attentive kind too, she always noticed when something wasn't quite right.

"Yeah, just woke up thirsty is all." The lie came easily enough, but she knew Claudia knew better. The Tremere looked at the Ghoul with a sad expression, like she was heading towards the gallows. Sophia ignored it, putting the juice back in the fridge as soon as her glass was filled again.

"You're sure everything's ok?" Claudia was fishing now, trying to press her into talking. In truth Sophia didn't much like Claudia, didn't like the way she spoke so badly about Lyle. Maybe it was the blood that made her lash out verbally like that when they argued, because of him.

"I'm sure, night." Sophia passed Claudia quickly and tried her best not to sprint back upstairs again. By the time she'd closed the bedroom door Loic was already sitting up in bed. He'd obviously been awake a while and waiting for her to come back.

She smiled, putting the glass on the bedside table and crawled back into bed. He was quick to draw her into his arms again, she felt so safe there. Without fighting she curled into his arms and pressed a kiss to him.

Tomorrow was going to be really hard.


	5. Doesn't look like it'll need stitches

**Doesn't look like it'll need stitches - Sophia & Loic**

It took a little while to stem the bleeding, the cut was quite deep and the bowl of water Loic had gotten to clean the cut had turned pink and then red.

With a flannel he carefully cleaned the crimson fluid that coated his lover's face. Sophia carefully applying pressure to the wound to try and stem the flow of blood.

"I don't think it'll need stitches.. " After getting her clean he took over from her, carefully peeling back the flannel to get a better look.

He blinked back his surprise, he could have sworn it was deeper than what it was now. As he looked carefully Sophia sat mutely her hair now a tangle of damp blood that had begun to clot.

"Why do you look so surprised?" She hadn't missed the confused look and the careful examination which seemed to last much longer than it should.

"I could have sworn it was deeper than this." Her brow pulled into a frown which spurred the blood to begin to flow once again. Loic quickly slapped the cloth back in place and applied pressure again.

"Maybe it seemed worse than it was, head wounds bleed a lot." She suggested it casually but had a sneaking suspicion that the Kindred vitae was slowly but surely healing it.

"We should get you to see a Doctor." Sophia went rigid at the prospect.

"I'm not concussed." Her tone was flat, brooking no arguments about the matter. She hated Doctors they asked way too many questions and came to annoying conclusions.

"No harm in getting you checked over." She could feel his free hand caressing at her arm trying to reassure her but she just went all the more stiff.

"No Doctors." Her voice became harsh and annoyed, Loic sighed softly and nodded his head.

"Okay, okay." Now the bleeding had stopped he removed the flannel yet again and put a dressing over it carefully after drying off the skin. "I'll check on it in the morning, let's get you through the bath and into bed."

The next morning Sophia woke early, she went to find a mirror and carefully pulled the dressing that Loic had put on the night before. She could see strike through on it, but once the wound had been revealed it looked remarkably improved. It was as though she had weeks to let it heal not a few hours.

It looked almost completely gone, as though it was a tiny cut and not as though she had been thrown bodily across a room.

Carefully she washed and applied a new dressing and silently she hoped Loic wouldn't press her for answers or ask her what had happened, she really didn't want to talk about it.


	6. That was Nice

**That was... Nice Varya & Robert**

Varya wasn't an easy lady to work for. In the past she had many Ghouls but none of them seemed to last, Robert had been her first, though he'd never confess it the simple fact that he was her first and had managed to last the longest sparked pride in his chest. The others had tried, some of them had even been adequate to Varya's needs and yet he was the only one left now.

Robert liked the way she'd ask him for something, but what he adored all the more was the smile and satisfied expression that graced her lips when he satisfied her whims. That no doubt was the blood bond, in truth it wasn't so bad, she had never really been overly cruel or demanding or unreasonable in her requests. Eccentric without a doubt on occasion but on the whole nothing he couldn't manage.

When one worked for so long for the same person eventually you learn to predict, learn to recall exactly what was needed and how. Every now and then Varya caught him off guard, this wasn't such a bad thing it reminded him of his place and exactly where he belonged. That he was fallible, that she was capable of change. It was a strange thought in and of itself, Kindred did not change and yet she did, she managed to adapt to the new and unusual whilst her peers seemed to struggle.

Sometimes it doesn't feel like a worthwhile endeavour, the fact that some of the things that are asked of Ghouls are terrible, things that do not take well on a moral level or even a human one in most cases. On some days these things haunt us, we sit and think and wonder why we do these things for them, then we remember why, remember the things we gain in return and in the end we decide it is worth it.

Salvation is over rated, in the face of the Almighty we have no defence so why bother pretending?

Sometimes, just being held… The vitae, it's like a drug, our heroin?

Robert recalled the first time she fed him. His previous Master was not so kind. His giving clinical, most of the time in a glass and cold. When Varya fed Robert she allowed him to take it from her skin, it flowed with a pulse and was warm. He remembered trying very hard to not want to bite, it made him shiver and knees almost buckled.

The Ghoul did not remember how, but eventually when she stopped giving they were sitting down. He watched dazed as her skin knitted itself back together. Very fascinated with the whole process, and riding the high that came with the vitae. It made Robert feel stronger, made him feel like nothing could hurt him ever again.

It took a further fifteen minutes for him to come back to his full senses. He hadn't noticed that she had kept him where he was, that her fingers toyed with his hair and the nape of his neck. She had never been overly affectionate before but why would he stop her from indulging herself when he was enjoying more than he should?


End file.
